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Our HOA dues paid for 3 excellent parks and 2 swimming pools, along with landscaping on the bike and walking paths.

*sniff*

I miss Texas...

Live in the country. That extra time spent driving into work makes it worth it

It's Florida. There's almost no "country" left to live in.

I live out in thew woods then. Have a militia compound behind my property. So when the world goes to Hell in a hand basket the back of my property is secured. When they grill they GRILL

I think the guys in the video handled the county environmental guy better than I would have. A lot better. I would have told the crap bag to get a warrant or get off my property. But then again I won't live in a neighborhood anytime soon, in part because I don't play well with others. Heck I could see using the 3 foot box fan I have to purposely send smoke at the offended party's house.

 Jihadin wrote:
Live in the country. That extra time spent driving into work makes it worth it

The place we moved into a couple of months ago borders a 'nice' neighborhood (the backs of their privacy fences is where my land starts). But we rent 20 some acres of a parcel of a much larger chunk our land lord owns. He has a handful of longhorn cattle and his roping horses, a big warehouse and other stuff (cabin on the river which is another boundary). We fenced in about 6 acres for the horses and a quarter acre split for the pigs and goats, and an area about the same against the house for the dogs to run around in. Our parcel is fenced in with barbed wire to keep the cows out, though we let them in once in a while of the grass gets too long. Our last place had my nearest neighbors about 400 meters away.

I worry that when I am using the smoker or the grill that the smell of tasty meat will waft over the fence and start a riot as the suburban dwellers stampede towards the source of divine goodness. Unless they came bearing offerings of bourbon, good beer, or at least pecan pie or something equally useful, they would not like the consequences of venturing onto my property.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Im going to play devils advocate.
1: I have a smoke intolerance, If I get smoke in my lungs, I get ill
2: I have had neighbors who dont so much as BBQ, but put meet on the grill, ith to much lighter fluid and charcoal, fill the whole block with smoke and the the smell of burnt food.
3: BBQs are sometimes an excuse to act like a Jackass, like how over here, they had a July 4th bbq, then lit of a bottle rocket that set fire to our law(we share a lawn)

I'm going to agree that it can be a problem. I have asthma, and while most BBQ isn't a problem, my sister in law uses woodsmoke, perhaps taken from the blighted wood of Mordor, that invariably sets off my asthma, and once made me so sick I nearly had to go to the hospital because she filled the house with that smoke. So, I can easily buy that excessive BBQ smoke is making a neighbor sick, even across the street, if the barbecuers don't know what they're doing.

Sister in law? Are you sure its smoke and not poison gas?

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Im going to play devils advocate.
1: I have a smoke intolerance, If I get smoke in my lungs, I get ill
2: I have had neighbors who dont so much as BBQ, but put meet on the grill, ith to much lighter fluid and charcoal, fill the whole block with smoke and the the smell of burnt food.
3: BBQs are sometimes an excuse to act like a Jackass, like how over here, they had a July 4th bbq, then lit of a bottle rocket that set fire to our law(we share a lawn)

Sounds like you're suffering from not enough America.

I love the smell of BBQ. I'd be jealous to smell it and not get any. But I'm usually involved in most BBQs that exist near me, so it's never a problem. I'm sure it's happened before, but this is the first time I've heard of a complaint being called in over a BBQ. Maybe the woman is a Nazi?

 Frazzled wrote:
Sister in law? Are you sure its smoke and not poison gas?

Not ruled out. She also claimed to be a vegetarian with Celiac's disease, and that's why she never eats any of the foods she serves to me...

 Psienesis wrote:
It's Florida. There's almost no "country" left to live in.

I've seen the pictures. Its either subdivisions or swamp. With no in between space.

Once all the baby boomers start dying Florida is gonna have a lot of empty housing.

 Psienesis wrote:

You might own the physical building of the house, but you don't actually own the land it sits on. That's owned by whoever owns the subdivision, so when you move into that area, you're signing a contract with the HOA, and generally paying dues to them for things like lawn maintenance and such.

That's not really true for where I live... Yes, we have an HOA, and we pay dues to it. But those dues pay for the maintenance of "common areas" and was supposed to include the sidewalks at the front of my property (but the pernicious witch who is currently sitting as president is a cheapskate)

I actually do own the parcel of land that my house sits on. My property taxes are based on the lot, as well as the house itself. The HOA rules here basically state that my front yard must maintain a "kept appearance". No grass length regulations, no specified "authorized" flower colors or any of that. However, if I wanted to widen my driveway, I have to fill out a form for approval. Same for if I wanted to completely repaint the house (as in, repainting it a different color from what it is). I am limited in fencing, as well as the company that does it, to "maintain aesthetics" of the neighborhood.


Naturally, there are good and bad things that come with an HOA, and if you can find the right balance between the good and bad, it's not so bad.

Our HOA is pretty dang decent I think.The fees are less than $200 a year, and I feel that we have a pretty good trade off in restrictions and benefits.

Our restrictions basically say "keep the lawn nice, keep two trees on the lot, keep the house in good condition, if you repair the roof it has to be the same style and color of shingles, keep the colors the same if you are painting, keep the trashcans behind the fence, no broke down cars in the drive way, no trailers (boats or RVs) parked in front of the house (other than the evening before you travel or stuff like that),

Our benefits are: really nice common areas, extensive walking trails, a splash pad, multiple play grounds for the kids, stocked ponds for fishing, basketball courts, volley ball courts, soccer fields, baseball fields, two of those outdoor gym things, and some other small things. Plus the whole "the neighborhood doesn't look like crap because your neighbor can't keep his boat in the drive way while his broke down car is jacked up on blocks by the curb in front of the dead trees" thing.

Ours is 200$ a month and all we get is a pool that is usable 2 months a year, rules on how we can park our cars, how old the cars can be(they cant be older than 1970) AND people that do yardwork 3am.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh, and to bring us OT, We cant have BBQs.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
how old the cars can be(they cant be older than 1970)

I would bring up some issues with that. Obviously, no one wants to see a car that is basically a pile of rust just rotting on the lot, but if I have a perfectly restored 1951 Mercury "lead sled" sitting in my garage that I take out for shows... why the hell shouldn't I be able to own it and keep it on my property? Something as expensive as that, I wouldn't leave on the street, or the driveway; It'd be parked in the garage.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Im going to play devils advocate.
1: I have a smoke intolerance, If I get smoke in my lungs, I get ill
2: I have had neighbors who dont so much as BBQ, but put meet on the grill, ith to much lighter fluid and charcoal, fill the whole block with smoke and the the smell of burnt food.
3: BBQs are sometimes an excuse to act like a Jackass, like how over here, they had a July 4th bbq, then lit of a bottle rocket that set fire to our law(we share a lawn)

I'm going to agree that it can be a problem. I have asthma, and while most BBQ isn't a problem, my sister in law uses woodsmoke, perhaps taken from the blighted wood of Mordor, that invariably sets off my asthma, and once made me so sick I nearly had to go to the hospital because she filled the house with that smoke. So, I can easily buy that excessive BBQ smoke is making a neighbor sick, even across the street, if the barbecuers don't know what they're doing.

I mean, I love BBQ, and I think if it was JUST the smell than yeah, its stupid.
Im saying that some people cant BBQ and just throw meat on the grill and pretty much burn it, then leave the rest of the neighborhood worse for wear.

 d-usa wrote:
no trailers (boats or RVs) parked in front of the house (other than the evening before you travel or stuff like that),

Our HOA has a 24 hour rule, to allow time to pack and all that.... But even then, there's been some issue with certain people in regard to that, and not in the way you'd think

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
how old the cars can be(they cant be older than 1970)

I would bring up some issues with that. Obviously, no one wants to see a car that is basically a pile of rust just rotting on the lot, but if I have a perfectly restored 1951 Mercury "lead sled" sitting in my garage that I take out for shows... why the hell shouldn't I be able to own it and keep it on my property? Something as expensive as that, I wouldn't leave on the street, or the driveway; It'd be parked in the garage.

their logic is that, I kid you not, when I brought my dead dads car over and kept it for a day(1968 Caddillac) or two when my brother was coming down to pick it up was that cars that old require work done on them often, so people might be out there working on them and they dont want that smell or stuff like that. They also tend to be eyesores.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
how old the cars can be(they cant be older than 1970)

I would bring up some issues with that. Obviously, no one wants to see a car that is basically a pile of rust just rotting on the lot, but if I have a perfectly restored 1951 Mercury "lead sled" sitting in my garage that I take out for shows... why the hell shouldn't I be able to own it and keep it on my property? Something as expensive as that, I wouldn't leave on the street, or the driveway; It'd be parked in the garage.

their logic is that, I kid you not, when I brought my dead dads car over and kept it for a day(1968 Caddillac) or two when my brother was coming down to pick it up was that cars that old require work done on them often, so people might be out there working on them and they dont want that smell or stuff like that. They also tend to be eyesores.

Your HOA would seriously hate my neighborhood... on my street alone, there are 3 boat owners, an RV owner, and 4 classic car owners including one guy a few houses up who has an absolutely gorgeous 1930s era Dodge Pickup truck

And know you know why i hate HOA.

 d-usa wrote:
Our HOA is pretty dang decent I think.The fees are less than $200 a year, and I feel that we have a pretty good trade off in restrictions and benefits.

Our restrictions basically say "keep the lawn nice, keep two trees on the lot, keep the house in good condition, if you repair the roof it has to be the same style and color of shingles, keep the colors the same if you are painting, keep the trashcans behind the fence, no broke down cars in the drive way, no trailers (boats or RVs) parked in front of the house (other than the evening before you travel or stuff like that),

Our benefits are: really nice common areas, extensive walking trails, a splash pad, multiple play grounds for the kids, stocked ponds for fishing, basketball courts, volley ball courts, soccer fields, baseball fields, two of those outdoor gym things, and some other small things. Plus the whole "the neighborhood doesn't look like crap because your neighbor can't keep his boat in the drive way while his broke down car is jacked up on blocks by the curb in front of the dead trees" thing.

Seen this when I was out on the housing market. The tree's in your HOA D does it have to be the same like everyone else?

Don't have any special rules on the type of tree. The HOA does have a contract with a local nursery which basically ends up giving people in the neighborhood a discount on 4 or 5 types of trees. Which means that we end up with a mostly uniform mix of trees with some interesting specimens here and there.

Wow, you guys have some good HOA.

Rather than being a jerk off neighbor, they should just poke over the fence and ask for a slice! Who would say no to good BBQ?!?

Lawyers

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
how old the cars can be(they cant be older than 1970)

I would bring up some issues with that. Obviously, no one wants to see a car that is basically a pile of rust just rotting on the lot, but if I have a perfectly restored 1951 Mercury "lead sled" sitting in my garage that I take out for shows... why the hell shouldn't I be able to own it and keep it on my property? Something as expensive as that, I wouldn't leave on the street, or the driveway; It'd be parked in the garage.

their logic is that, I kid you not, when I brought my dead dads car over and kept it for a day(1968 Caddillac) or two when my brother was coming down to pick it up was that cars that old require work done on them often, so people might be out there working on them and they dont want that smell or stuff like that. They also tend to be eyesores.

Your HOA would seriously hate my neighborhood... on my street alone, there are 3 boat owners, an RV owner, and 4 classic car owners including one guy a few houses up who has an absolutely gorgeous 1930s era Dodge Pickup truck

Wussy. In my Houston neighborhood, we park 18 wheelers. No joke.
EDIT: Also lots of cars in yards. Somewhat trashy. Yet people are outside and kids are running around. Black kids running around with White Kids and Brown Kids-its great. When I walk Rusty the Tank I wave at everyone and they wave back.

In contrast at the Austin house they send a letter if you park one car behind the other blocking the sidewalk, and you can't park your car at the curb. Improvements or repairs have to be approved by the HOA, and if the Fedex comes to many times they try to investigate you if for having a business at your house (they ran our next door neighbor out, which turned out great I hated their yapping dog).

You would hate our area... Since HOAs are just like smaller form of government, we have townships, city and county ordnance.

We have banned heavy commercial vehicles in residential neighborhoods.

A vehicle is considered heavy commercial if:
*a gross vehicle weight of more than 10,000 pounds; a manufacturer's rated capacity of more than one ton
*more than 21 feet long (including any object loaded onto the vehicle)
*more than eight feet high (including racks, but not antennas).

This also applies to recreational vehicles and trailers.

On your own property, you may not park more than one of these types of vehicles, it must be on paved ground, not grass and it can not be more than 30% of your front yard or 320 sqfeet.

This is our entire county... County laws are like HOA on steroids!!!

75$ ticket for your troubles, per day.

 d-usa wrote:
Our HOA is pretty dang decent I think.The fees are less than $200 a year, and I feel that we have a pretty good trade off in restrictions and benefits.

Our restrictions basically say "keep the lawn nice, keep two trees on the lot, keep the house in good condition, if you repair the roof it has to be the same style and color of shingles, keep the colors the same if you are painting, keep the trashcans behind the fence, no broke down cars in the drive way, no trailers (boats or RVs) parked in front of the house (other than the evening before you travel or stuff like that),

Our benefits are: really nice common areas, extensive walking trails, a splash pad, multiple play grounds for the kids, stocked ponds for fishing, basketball courts, volley ball courts, soccer fields, baseball fields, two of those outdoor gym things, and some other small things. Plus the whole "the neighborhood doesn't look like crap because your neighbor can't keep his boat in the drive way while his broke down car is jacked up on blocks by the curb in front of the dead trees" thing.

This is almost verbatim of my old HOA, but it was $600 a year. Quite a bit more, obviously, but they had two pools that were open May through August with life guards and maintenance crew, landscaped walking trails, 3 parks, and the place looked really nice.

You could keep a boat/camper for 24 hours (getting ready for a trip or Winterizing/Spring Preparation), but that was it.

 Wyrmalla wrote:
Can't say that I haven't been at barbecues where the up themselves neighbors have turned their noses up at us because they were vegan. ...My argument though to people complaining in those grounds is that they need to live in a bubble if they want to live in a world where people don't eat meat everyday. However, in this case I'm assuming that person was complaining for the sake of complaining. There may of course be more to the situation, though its a bit petty to call the authorities over a barbecue of all things. ...Or were these people grilling meat 24/7 or something?

The article said it was the 15th complaint, didn't it?

Yes, but it didn't list a timeframe (2 weeks, or over 10 years, or what) and of course, 15 unsustained complaints does not a good foundation form. So, maybe they were way out of line, maybe she's complaining about nothing; can't be determined from what is provided.

I have the new smoker my daughter and wife got me for Father's Day turning some ribs into food fit for kings as I type this. The smell of hickory and cherry wood combined with the slowing cooking pork is blowing all over right now. And will be for the next 4 hours or so.


I eagerly await the law.